I used to think that I wanted an engagement that was surrounded by people, recorded for everyone to see, and include all of the people I love watching it happen. I am really happy that my fiancé actually did not do any of these things and that it was an intimate moment with just the two of us...and the dog. Our engagement was a huge surprise! On a Friday, we went down to Columbus because we were going to a nice dinner with his family. I had worked it out with my mentor teacher (I was in student teaching) so that I could miss school on Friday so we could drive down. Jacob dropped me off at my hair appointment and went back to his parent's house. Little did I know, he was preparing our engagement! After my appointment, I was walking around Pier 1 and looking at items that I couldn't wait to get one day. I knew at that point that Jacob and I were most likely going to get married, so it didn't hurt to look. Jacob came inside and indulged my window shopping desires. I remember saying, "Well when we get married, I want this for our house." I still had no idea what was going to happen. We drove home and I was greeted at the door by Manning, the family Labradoodle. I was trying to get him to settle down but Jacob kept insisting that I read what his bandana said. I couldn't read it very well so I had to take it off of him and look. The bandana said, "Haylee, will you marry my brother?" I looked at Jacob and stood up. He got down on one knee and proposed. It was perfect! Little did I know, the surprises weren't over. We walked into dinner to celebrate and my parents and his sister were sitting there waiting for us! It was a great surprise. I found out that my mom had emailed my mentor teacher about the entire plan and asked him to please let me have Friday off. They planned the entire weekend without me knowing, something that was extremely difficult for Jacob. I wouldn't change that entire experience for anything!

Jacob and I met on Tinder. Yep. That is how it happened. I downloaded Tinder for 3o minutes, matched with Jacob, chatted with him all night, and then decided to meet up with him the next day at Starbucks. Was it a smart idea? Probably not. Was it the best decision I have ever made? Yes. I waited in Starbucks and was awkwardly watching every single person walk in, wondering if it was him. I knew it was him because he was wearing a shirt that was in Spanish. I am pretty sure he wore it because he wanted to impress me. He also had ketchup on his arm because he had eaten chicken tenders right before meeting up with me. If you know Jacob, you know now that I am no longer surprised that he had ketchup on his arm. We hung out and got to know each other for the next few weeks before we decided to make things official. October 1st is our official dating anniversary!

Hello everyone! I cannot believe that our wedding is only 7 months away! I have been asked a few times about some of the specific details of the wedding, so I decided it was time to share them with everyone! Location: Our wedding will be held on July 20th, 2019 at Cibréo Privato in downtown Cleveland. It will be a small wedding with close friends and immediate family. Both the ceremony and the reception will be held at the same location. Food: Our food choices will include (as long as the tasting goes as we plan) Appetizers: Meatballs and a Salumi Antipasta board. Salads: Insalata Cibréo and Insalata Caprese Main Entreés: Chicken Parmesan, Seafood Risotto, and Tuscan Beef Dessert: Cake and Donuts! We are considering having a cookie tray as well because is it really a Northeast Ohio wedding without one? Hotel: The hotel block is at The Kimpton Schofield Hotel on E. 9th Street. After receiving 15 nights in our room block, we quickly realized that we needed several more and are working with the hotel to add more. Once the rooms are added to our block, I will post the link for others to book their rooms! We highly encourage everyone to book in our hotel if the rooms are still available. They offer amazing rates given that the hotel is in downtown Cleveland! Even if we cannot get our block to expand, I still recommend this hotel to anyone that needs one! If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to ask! Love, Haylee and Jacob